-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- TV sets , computers and smartphones are hard to find in Sangano , Malawi , but farmers here are using an age-old mass communication tool to learn the tricks of their trade : radio .

In a country where the vast majority of the population lives off the land , scores of smallholders in rural communities tune in to Farm Radio Malawi to get valuable information and share ideas on how to improve their yields -- from fertilizing techniques and cultivation tips to harvesting practices and weather forecasts .

`` Most of our farmers ... are illiterate , '' says Rex Chapota , executive director at Farm Radio Malawi . `` They 're not able to read newspapers or pamphlets or booklets , and even televisions are not out there in the community . So radio is actually the only source of critical information to our farmers , and statistics are showing right now that over 60 % of the rural populace at least own a radio . ''

Farm Radio Malawi is one of the partner stations of Farm Radio International , a non-profit organization that 's been teaming up with African radio broadcasters since the late 1970s .

The Canada-based group offers its hundreds of partners in sub-Saharan Africa a wide array of resources , including a weekly electronic news service and an online community that connects broadcasters across the continent .

It also researches and writes radio scripts covering issues such as crop production , farm management and community health . The scripts , which are offered for free , are translated in local languages and read in 38 countries , according to the group .

In rural parts of Malawi , farmers often gather at radio listening clubs to tune in and discuss what they 've heard .

`` The issue of radio listeners ' clubs is very critical to our model , '' says Chapota . `` We do understand that when farmers come together in a group to listen together to a radio program , thereafter they are able to discuss and dialogue on what they 've listened to and then they 're able to use that in their various fields , '' he adds .

Malawi , a landlocked country in southeastern Africa , has one of the largest rural populations in the continent . Agriculture accounts for about 80 % of the country 's labor force , which is why local farm programming can make a big difference in people 's lives .

`` Right now we are promoting groundnut growing , not only for food , but for income , '' says Chapota . `` So we say that if our farmers are able to produce good groundnuts , which can fetch good prices at the market , then that is very beneficial to their income security . ''

One of the groundnut farmers who benefited from receiving the station 's audible agriculture advice is Benjamin Masiya , who relies on his agriculture income to pay for his children 's school fees and clothing . He says he expects his harvest to increase this year after following the radio station 's advice , which enabled him to plant two groundnut rows on a ridge instead of one .

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Patrick Chimuvi , a government agriculture advisor in Malawi , says the radio programs have been very successful in helping farmers improve their skills and harvest their produce at the best time .

`` Most often they used to harvest in June , but after listening on the radio they ... harvest their crops in May , which was very important because whenever there 's a late time of harvesting , there 's a loss of products , '' says Chimuvi .

From preventing the loss of produce to increasing harvests , the broadcasters believe that the lessons learned over the radio airwaves can help fight food insecurity and improve lives in Malawi 's rural communities .

`` We know that if they improve their famine situation , then their income improves , but also the nutrition improves , and their whole livelihood changes for the better , '' says Chapota .

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Farmers in Malawi are tuning in to radio programs to get vital information

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Broadcasts from Farm Radio Malawi help them improve their yields , they say

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Some of the farmers gather together to listen to the programs and discuss what they 've heard

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Malawi 's economy is largely based on agriculture